"Do we know what software tools school systems actually want? Demand-side analyses typically reflect the loudest voices in the market that companies are eager to please—in the case of education technology, the largest urban districts with the largest technology budgets. But half of the nation’s 48 million public school students attend approximately 3,700 small- to medium-sized school systems. These school systems face some of the same struggles as large districts in delivering high-quality blended learning and running effective and efficient central offices. They also face distinct challenges in the marketplace, as they find themselves unable to afford large enterprise solutions or powerless to push suppliers to customize to their particular needs."

TNTP, a teacher-recruitment and policy-advocacy group, recently released a new paper called Reimagining Teaching in a Blended Learning Setting. The paper describes roles and essential competencies of blended-learning teachers, provides guidance to school leaders for recruiting and selecting blended-learning teachers. Its conclusions are based on findings from visits to “more than 20 schools across the country” and interviews with “more than 60 teachers and leaders about their experiences.” -